make history
The Iranian refugee team landed in Israel this evening (Tuesday) ahead of the Grand Slam judo competition, which will be held this weekend at the Shlomo Group Hall in Tel Aviv.
The refugee team in Godo in Israel, photo: Oren Aharoni
This became possible after a nerve-wracking day, and after the team members were informed that they would not receive their visas.
However, after great efforts by the chairman of the union Moshe Ponti, who put pressure on government officials with the help of the Ministry of Sports and Minister Miki Zohar, all the relevant approvals came from the Shin Bet and the Population and Immigration Authority.
Ponti himself arrived to welcome the delegation from the plane, and it was impossible to miss the great excitement on the faces of the athletes, when they thanked everyone for the help: "We are happy to come to Israel and compete like everyone else in the Tel Aviv Grand Slam", they said.
Iranians in Israel, photo: Oren Aharoni
The team includes the Iranian Mohammad Rashnonzahad (up to 60 kg), who immigrated to the Netherlands in 2017. 23-year-old Majid Kaban, who competes in the weight category up to 66 kg, and three years ago decided to follow in the footsteps of Saeed Moulay, who left Iran , and today he lives and trains in Scotland and hopes to reach the Olympic Games in Paris in 2024. The team is completed by Afghan Nigara Shaheen (63 kg), who is in the program of the World Refugee Team of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and previously took part in the Tokyo Games in the individual and team competition, when she will land Only Tomorrow.
The coach is the Iranian Vahid Sarlak, who only took a picture with the coach of the Israeli women's team, Shani Hershko, at the last World Championship in Tashkent, and together they conveyed a message of peace.
Ponti with the delegation, photo: Oren Aharoni
This is the eighth international event in a row that the Israel Judo Association is hosting, after the European Senior Championships in 2018, the Grand Prix, the Grand Slam in the last three years, and of course the Masters tournament that will be held in Jerusalem last December.
The ultimate goal is of course to bring Israel the World Championship in the coming years.
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